Public Policy

  • May 15, 2026

    4 Key Takeaways From SEC's Semiannual Reporting Proposal

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently put forth a plan that could allow publicly traded companies to move from a quarterly to a semiannual reporting schedule, but whether they choose to do so and how that could impact both the growth of the public markets and insider-trading plans for corporate leaders remains up for debate.

  • May 15, 2026

    Renters Seek Approval For $218M In RealPage Landlord Deals

    A class of renters asked a Tennessee federal court to preliminarily approve more than $218 million worth of settlements that aim to resolve antitrust claims against a group of multifamily landlords accused of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s technology for rent price-fixing.

  • May 15, 2026

    Girardi Trial Judge Josephine Staton To Take Senior Status

    The California federal judge who sentenced disgraced trial attorney Tom Girardi to prison for wire fraud last year has announced that she'll be taking senior status in the fall, allowing President Donald Trump to appoint her successor.

  • May 15, 2026

    EEOC Poised To Scuttle EEO-1 Reporting Requirement

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is close to ending its annual collection of workplace demographic data now that a proposed rule that would rescind employers' reporting requirements has been sent to the White House for approval.

  • May 14, 2026

    'Who's Telling The Truth?' Musk-OpenAI Fight Goes To Jury

    Elon Musk's counsel urged a California federal jury during trial closings Thursday to find OpenAI breached its charitable trust aided by Microsoft Corp. and slammed OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's credibility, while OpenAI's counsel argued Musk is trying to attack his competitor and urged jurors to ask themselves, "Who's telling the truth?"

  • May 14, 2026

    AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Join Forces To End 'Dead Zones'

    AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have reached an agreement in principle to form a new joint venture aimed at ending wireless dead zones in the U.S. by pooling resources to increase capacity, according to an announcement made Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    Squires Lays Out Principles For Patent Review Discretion

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John A. Squires issued a precedential decision Thursday outlining the principles underlying his discretion in instituting America Invents Act reviews, emphasizing that Congress intended such reviews to be an alternative to costly and lengthy litigation.

  • May 14, 2026

    Meta Starts NM Defense As Midtrial Win Bid Fails

    A judge denied Meta a midtrial win Thursday morning over harm to underage social media users, prompting the social media giant to call an executive to begin building a defense case that platform changes requested by New Mexico's attorney general are unnecessary or even counterproductive.

  • May 14, 2026

    Creek Nation Wins Injunction Blocking City Prosecutions

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has won a bid in Oklahoma federal court for a preliminary injunction against a city that has challenged the tribe's sovereignty by arresting tribal citizens on reservation land.

  • May 14, 2026

    Legislative Update: Cannabis And Psychedelics Bill Roundup

    Members of Congress approved language in a funding bill that would block the rescheduling of marijuana, Colorado lawmakers gave final approval to a bill to fund research into the psychedelic ibogaine and authorize the establishment of licensed treatment centers, and Rhode Island lawmakers introduced legislation to eliminate geographic criteria from the state's cannabis social equity program.

  • May 14, 2026

    NC Republicans Want Fetal Personhood Question On '26 Ballot

    Two Republicans in the North Carolina House who have a history of advancing so-called fetal personhood bills have made another attempt to put a constitutional amendment to voters in November to decide if life begins at fertilization.

  • May 14, 2026

    EPA Floats Relaxation Of Coal Plant Waste Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to relax Biden-era rules requiring coal-run power plants to treat toxic wastewater so it doesn't seep into waterways, saying the move would reduce the cost of electricity by more than $1 billion a year.

  • May 14, 2026

    Squires Walks Back 5 More IPR Grants Over Inconsistent Args

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has reversed earlier decisions granting five petitions for patent review, citing what he called the challengers' inconsistent positions in parallel proceedings and explaining that four petitions he denied in previous bulk orders were also rejected for the same reasons. 

  • May 14, 2026

    Squires Ends IPR After Railway Co. Surrenders Patent Claim

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has de-instituted a Patent Trial and Appeal Board review after National Steel Car Ltd. disclaimed the only parts of its patent the board thought could be invalid, saying they should "be treated as though they never existed."

  • May 14, 2026

    Boulder Tent Ban Survives Colo. Rights Challenge Appeal

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel unanimously found that two city of Boulder ordinances that ban sheltering in public spaces don't violate the Colorado Constitution, shooting down constitutional challenges from a now-defunct nonprofit and several Boulder residents, according to an opinion announced Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    Newsom's Budget Change Targets Credits, SaaS, LLC Tax

    California would make permanent its business tax credit limit, apply the sales tax to digital prewritten software and cut in half the $800 minimum tax for limited liability companies under a revised budget announced Thursday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • May 14, 2026

    States Eye AI Ownership Laws To Fill Federal IP Gaps

    States are beginning to test whether they can fill a gap left by federal copyright and patent law for works created with artificial intelligence, with Arkansas adopting a first-of-its-kind ownership rule for generative content and lawmakers elsewhere weighing their own proposals.

  • May 14, 2026

    Farmworkers Lose Early Bid To Halt DOL H-2A Wage Rule

    A California federal judge declined Thursday to block a U.S. Department of Labor regulation reducing wages for H-2A seasonal farmworkers, ruling that United Farm Workers failed to show there is an immediate injury that warrants court intervention now.

  • May 14, 2026

    Verizon's Array Buy Gets Green Light From FCC Staff

    Verizon secured approval Thursday from the Federal Communications Commission to buy up spectrum assets of the former rival UScellular, now known as Array Digital Infrastructure Inc.

  • May 14, 2026

    Voting Maps, Ballot Deadline Teed Up For Ga. Special Session

    Georgia lawmakers will reconvene for a special session in June to redraw the state's electoral maps in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling and to address a fast-approaching deadline to find a replacement method for tabulating votes that does not involve QR codes.

  • May 14, 2026

    Algorithms In Senate Spotlight After Social Media Suit Losses

    Lawyers and parents on Wednesday urged lawmakers to strengthen protections for children online, focusing on the addictiveness of social media algorithms after two recent trial losses for Big Tech.

  • May 14, 2026

    House Passes Bill To Narrow Biofuel Blending Exemption

    The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would lift summertime restrictions on the sale of higher-ethanol fuel and tighten requirements for a biofuel blending exemption for small refineries.

  • May 14, 2026

    Fla. Property Manager To Pay Evicted Sailor $60K In DOJ Deal

    A Florida property management company will pay $60,000 to a U.S. Navy sailor to settle allegations by federal prosecutors that the company used a false affidavit to win an eviction that forced the sailor to live apart from his wife — at times on a Navy ship with no heat.

  • May 14, 2026

    House Panel Backs Bill To Recast Copyright Office Oversight

    A U.S. House committee Thursday unanimously advanced a bill that would change how the Copyright Office chief is selected, requiring congressional leaders to recommend candidates while allowing the president to make the final selection — a shift that would give both branches of government a more direct role in choosing the agency's leadership.

  • May 14, 2026

    EPA Proposes Delaying Biden-Era Vehicle Emissions Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a two-year extension on Thursday for the compliance deadline for Biden-era vehicle emissions standards, saying the policy was based on an overestimation of electric vehicle demand.

Expert Analysis

  • The Growing Importance Of Nature-Related Disclosures

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    The International Sustainability Standards Board's recent vote to develop nonmandatory nature‑related disclosure guidance reduces immediate compliance pressure, but it does not eliminate the practical relevance of such risks for companies that already prepare sustainability reports or operate across jurisdictions with differing expectations, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Rightsizing Regulation To Usher In Next-Generation Nuclear

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    Next-generation nuclear seems to be having its moment as a recent flurry of Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking aims to fast-track the licensing and deployment of such technologies, says Hilary Jacobs at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Live Nation Shows States, Experts Key To Antitrust Verdicts

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    A New York federal jury's recent finding that Live Nation unlawfully monopolized primary ticketing services and amphitheaters demonstrates that states will not defer to federal agencies when they believe anticompetitive conduct warrants stronger action and highlights the vital role of economic expert testimony in antitrust cases, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Expect US Enforcers' Cartel Crackdown To Continue

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    Since agencies’ coordinated enforcement efforts targeting cartel-related activity have not slowed, U.S. companies in Latin America should assess new business lines for designated-cartel ties, scrutinize highest-risk third parties, and enhance training and internal investigation practices, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How To Limit Accounting Fraud Risk As SEC Focus Persists

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    Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pullback on crypto, cybersecurity and recordkeeping cases, accounting fraud remains a core enforcement priority, making it important for public companies and auditors to strengthen controls, investigations and whistleblower processes, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • OCC Proposal Frames Key Genius Act Implementation Issues

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule under the Genius Act previews federal expectations on permissible activities for stablecoin issuers, offering an early guide to potential compliance burdens and state-federal equivalency debates as the stablecoin regulatory regime continues to take shape, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • FCC Rule Changes Could Accelerate The Space Economy

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    A series of recently proposed Federal Communications Commission rulemakings that would expand opportunities for commercial space and satellite operations signal a regulatory shift toward greater flexibility, faster processing and more deliberate spectrum planning for space-adjacent and emergent space activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 9th Circ.'s Silence Prolongs Uncertainty On Cemex Framework

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    By affirming a bargaining order in Cemex Construction Materials v. National Labor Relations Board without opining on the NLRB’s 2023 expansion of its authority to issue such orders, the Ninth Circuit avoided direct conflict with the Sixth Circuit’s rejection of the same framework, prolonging uncertainty for employers facing union elections, say attorneys at Dinsmore & Shohl.

  • Arguments Show Justices Vacillating On Geofence Warrants

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    Questions and statements by the justices during recent oral arguments in Chatrie v. U.S., probing the Fourth Amendment limits of geofence warrants, revealed a Supreme Court that is skeptical of the government’s most sweeping claims, uncomfortable with the petitioner’s broadest theories and searching for a narrow off-ramp, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • FinCEN Rule Could Reshape AML Priorities Across Finance

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    Financial institutions should prepare for a proposed Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule that would heighten scrutiny of anti-money laundering requirements and encourage responsible use of technology, potentially reorienting compliance, governance decisions and enforcement exposure for organizations across the financial sector, not just banks, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Should Institute A New Enforcement Scorecard

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    Amid controversy over the recent release of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's annual enforcement statistics, the SEC should use a new scorecard that measures how well the Division of Enforcement detects and stops intentional fraud in order to refocus on its core mission of investor protection, says Peter Chan at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • Rebuttal

    Pro Codes Act Does Not Pose Constitutional Concerns

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    A recent Law360 guest article that raises constitutional alarms concerning the proposed Pro Codes Act, under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives, overstates the potential harm to standards development organizations and mischaracterizes existing law, says James Gourley at Carstens Allen.

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